Abstract: Polyvinyl chloride resin compositions and methods of preparation and use thereof for increasing the degree of whiteness in finished polyvinyl chloride foam. The resin compositions contain sulfur compounds selected from sulfonic acid derivatives, sulfinic acid derivatives, and mercapto acetic acid sodium salt, and optionally contain water soluble salts and/or t-butyl hydroperoxide.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of recovering elemental phosphorus from a sludge that contains water, dirt, and elemental phosphorus. In the first step, the sludge is melted. A mixture is formed of the melted sludge and about 0.5 to about 5 wt % of an oxidizing agent, based on the weight of elemental phosphorus in the sludge, and about 75 to about 580 wt % water, based on the weight of the sludge. The mixture is stirred until a continuous elemental phosphorus phase forms. The purified phosphorus phase is separated from the mixture.

Abstract: A method of making a benzoyl halide is disclosed. Into a reactor is placed a reaction mixture of a benzotrihalide and a benzaldehyde having the respective general formulas where each A is independently selected from halogen, CF3, R, or OR, each B is independently selected from halogen, CF3, or R, R is alkyl from C1 to C10 or aryl from C6 to C12, each X is independently selected from Cl and Br, m is 0 to 3, and n is 0 to 2. Also added is at least about 10 ppm of a catalyst selected from the group consisting of zinc salts and copper salts, and an optional solvent. The addition of an ammonium halide to the product mixture forms the corresponding amide, which can be dehydrated to form the corresponding nitrile.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of isolating the aromatic product formed when a substrate having the general formula is dehalogenated, forming a product mixture of copper salts and aromatic product, where X is the halogen removed from the substrate to form the aromatic product, R′ is COOH, COOR, COR, CN, COH(R)2, or SO3H, each R″ is independently selected from halogen, R, or OR or two vicinal R″ groups form one or more fused aromatic rings, R is alkyl from C1 to C18 or aryl from C6 to C18, and n is 1 to 4. Water in an amount about 1 to about 5 times the amount of the substrate is added to the product mixture, forming an organic phase that contains the aromatic product and an aqueous phase that contains the copper salts. If the density of the organic phase differs from the density of said aqueous phase by less than 0.1 g/cc, a suitable solvent is added to the product mixture in an amount sufficient to increase the differences between the organic and aqueous phases to at least 0.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of inhibiting the formation of scale on reactor surfaces in contact with a polymerizing vinyl monomer comprising contacting said monomer with a terpolymer which comprises the condensation reaction product of (A) an aromatic compound that contains the group where Q is OR or SR and R is hydrogen, alkyl from C1 to C15, or aryl, alkaryl, or aralkyl from C6 to C15: (B) about 0.1 to about 10 moles of a carbonyl compound per mole of said aromatic compound; and (C) about 0.1 to about 10 moles of a thiourea per mole of said aromatic compound.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of separating the meta isomer of a haloalkylbenzene having the general formula from a mixture with at least one other isomer, where X is Cl or Br and R is alkyl from C2 to C12 or cycloalkyl from C3 to C8. About 0.0001 to about 5 wt % of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst is added to the mixture and the mixture is exposed to a brominating agent which preferentially brominates the meta isomer. The mixture is then heated at a temperature above the boiling point of the other isomers but below the boiling point of the brominated meta isomer.

Abstract: Disclosed is an agitator assembly which comprises an agitator and means for mounting the agitator assembly on top of a tank. The agitator comprises a shaft, a propeller fixed to one end of the shaft, and means for rotating the shaft to provide an axial discharge from the propeller of at least 4.0 m/sec with a flow equivalent of at least 0.2 tank volumes/minute. The agitator is mounted on top of the tank so that the shaft enters the tank at an angle a to the longitudinal axis of the tank of between about 30 and about 60 degrees and at an angle &bgr; to the transverse vertical axis of the tank of less than about 50 degrees. Also disclosed is a method of shipping solids that are soluble in a solvent. The solids are placed in a tank on which the agitator assembly has been mounted. The quantity of solids placed in the tank exceeds the amount that will dissolve when the tank is filled with the solvent. The tank is transported to the location where the solids are to be removed from the tank.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of polymerizing vinyl chloride or vinylidene chloride monomer. A mixture is prepared of (1) a monomer selected from the group consisting of vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, and mixtures thereof with up to about 20 wt % of a comonomer, (2) supercritical carbon dioxide, subcritical carbon dioxide, or liquid carbon dioxide in a weight ratio to the monomer of about 0.5 to about 5; and (3) about 0.1 to about 1 phr of a free radical initiator that is soluble in said supercritical carbon dioxide or a solution of said a free radical initiator in a solvent that is miscible with the carbon dioxide. The mixture is heated to a temperature of about 40 to about 70° C. to polymerize the monomer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of recovering elemental phosphorus from a sludge that contains water, dirt, and elemental phosphorus. In the first step, the sludge is melted. A mixture is formed of the melted sludge and about 0.5 to about 3 wt % of an oxidizing agent, based on the weight of said elemental phosphorus in the sludge, and about 75 to about 400 wt % water, based on the weight of the sludge. The mixture is stirred until a continuous elemental phosphorus phase forms. The purified phosphorus phase is separated from the mixture.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of halogenating the ring of an aromatic compound. The aromatic compound is contacted with a halogenating agent in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst. The catalyst is the calcination reaction product of: (A) 51 to 99 wt % of a support which comprises at least one inorganic oxide or hydroxide of at least one metal that is at least divalent and forms a metal-to-oxygen matrix during calcination; and (B) 1 to 49 wt % of at least one dopant which comprises a compound that places an element that is at least divalent, bonded to oxygen atoms, into said matrix during said calcination, resulting in the formation of an acidic solid.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of increasing the percentage of certain isomers made when di or tri-substituted benzenes are chlorinated in the presence of a Friedel-Crafts catalyst. The use of about 0.001 to about 1 wt % a cocatalyst during chlorination alters the isomeric ratio of the product mixture. In particular, the percentage of the 2,5-isomer is increased when said substituted benzene is ortho or meta-substituted, the percentage of the 3,4-isomer is increased when said substituted benzene is para-substituted, and the percentage of the 2,4,5-isomer is increased when said substituted benzene is 2,4-disubstituted, 3,4-disubstituted, or 2,5-disubstituted.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of making an &agr;-chloro-&agr;,&agr;-difluoro aromatic compound. An &agr;,&agr;,&agr;-trichloro aromatic compound having the general formula where Y is C or N, R is halogen, R′, amino, NHR′, NR′2, OR′, OCF3, or nitro, R′ is alkyl from C1 to C10, n is 1, 2, or 3, and m is 0 to 5, is reacted with about 0.7 to about 1.4 equivalents of hydrogen fluoride per chlorine to be replaced, in the presence of about 0.001 to about 1.5 wt %, based on wt % of said &agr;,&agr;,&agr;-trichloro aromatic compound, of a catalyst selected from the group consisting of oxides of Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Mn, Re, Fe, Ru, Os, Al, Ga, In, Ge, Sn, Sb, and Bi, MoOqXr, (M)pMos+tO3s+4t, (M)pVO3, (M)pVO5, WOqXr, (M)pWs+tO3s+4t, and mixtures thereof, where M is a cation, X is amine, phosphine, carboxylate, or ketone, p is the negative of the valence of the anion times the inverse of the valence of M, q is 0 to 3, r is 0 to 6, and s is 0 to 4, and t is 1 to 5.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of polymerizing vinyl chloride monomer using a catalyst having the general formula where L is a ligand covalently bonded to the cobalt atom, each D is independently selected from donor ligands, R is hydrogen, hydrocarbon from C1 to C30, or hydrohalocarbon from C1 to C30, and X− is an anion. The catalyst is activated by the addition of an acid.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of adding 1 to 4 chlorine or bromine atoms to an aromatic ring of compound that has at least one electron-withdrawing groups on that ring. The aromatic compound is reacted with a chlorinating agent or a brominating agent in the presence of about 0.1 to about 10 mole % of a Lewis acid catalyst at a temperature of ambient to about 100° C. and a pressure of about 10 to about 100 psig.

Abstract: Disclosed is a stable gel-like slurry having a pH of about 6.5 to about 8.5 which is a mixture of water and about 20 to about 50 wt % sodium cyanurate. Also disclosed is a method of making a water-monosodium cyanurate hydrate gel-like slurry. A slurry is formed in water of about 20 to about 50 wt % cyanuric acid. Sodium hydroxide is added to the slurry in an amount of about 90 to about 100% of stoichiometric over a period of about 40 minutes. Water can be disinfected by adding to the water an amount of water-monosodium cyanuric hydrate gel-like slurry according to this invention equivalent to a concentration of cyanuric acid in the water of about 25 to about 150 ppm and an amount of a source of chlorine sufficient to maintain a concentration of chlorine in the water between about 0.1 and about 5.0 ppm.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of making 3,5-dichloro-p-toluoyl chloride. A mixture is prepared of methyl-3,5-dichloro-4-methylbenzoate, about 1 to about 1.4 equivalents of an &agr;,&agr;,&agr;-trichloromethylbenzene, and about 0.01 to about 0.2 equivalents of a catalyst selected from the group consisting of ammonium septamolybdate, ammonium dimolybdate, and mixtures thereof. The mixture is heated to a temperature of about 150 to about 180° C.

Abstract: A dehydrated mixture of hydrated sodium antimonate and ionomer polymer flame retard a polymer or resin composition such as film, fiber, electrical connection and molded part. From 10 to 90 parts sodium antimonate containing 3% moisture mixed with 10 to 90 parts ionomer polymer or polyethylene or ethylene vinyl acetate are added to a single screw vented extruder to produce pellet concentrate with a 0.1% moisture content for flame proofing PET. A composition may be prepared in a single or twin screw extruder or in a high shear blender in the presence of glass fiber by adding a dehydrated mixture of an alkyl tertabromophtalate and sodium antimonate and brominated polystyrene to polyethylene terephthalate or polybutylene terephthalate. A preferred temperature range for dehydration of hydrated sodium antimonate in the presence of a polymer is between 150° C. and 250° C.

Abstract: An improved process is disclosed for manufacturing chlorinated hydrocarbon by way of oxychlorination which yields reduced levels of environmental toxins such as, chlorobenzenes, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans. The process involves fixed bed or fluid bed catalyzed oxychlorination of a hydrocarbon reactant containing from 1 to 3 carbon atoms. The oxychlorination process consists of contacting the hydrocarbon reactant with oxygen or oxygenated gas and at least a portion of externally obtained hydrogen chloride in the presence of the oxychlorination catalyst in a heated reaction zone operated at from 150° C. to 600° C. and recovering chlorinated hydrocarbon from the effluents of the reaction zone.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of chlorinating the side chains of an aromatic compound having the general formula where each R is independently selected from R′ or OR′, each R′ is independently selected from alkyl from C1 to C6, and n is an integer from 1 to 3. Some of the aromatic compound is incompletely &agr;-chlorinated using about 0.1 to about 0.6 equivalents of chlorine per equivalent of the aromatic compound. The &agr;-chlorinated aromatic compound is separated from unreacted aromatic compound and the &agr;-chlorinated aromatic compound is further chlorinated. The two step chlorination of the aromatic compound reduces ring chlorination.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method of eliminating the odor from a malodorous gas, where the odor is due to the presence of a C10 to C18 fatty acid in the gas. An aqueous solution containing at least a stoichiometric amount of a base that reacts with said C10 to C18 fatty acid to produce a salt is sprayed into the gas.